Kashmir’s snowless winter sparks an unprecedented water crisis in the Valley
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Srinagar: Since childhood, Kulsuma, a 40-year-old woman from Kashmir Valley’s Kuchmulla hamlet, 45 km from Srinagar, has relied on tap water for drinking as well as irrigating the apple trees in her orchard. However, for the first time in her life, the taps have remained dry for two months this winter.
What was once a simple task of turning on the faucet has turned into an agonising wait, leaving her with nothing but empty pipes. “I never thought I would see this day," Kulsuma said, her voice filled with frustration. “Leave aside the orchards and vegetable gardens that I could easily irrigate with fresh tap water in the past, now we are struggling for even a single drop." The mother of two now relies on water tankers to meet her family’s needs, a sight she had only ever seen on television and never imagined experiencing firsthand.
The ongoing dry weather and lack of snowfall have triggered an unprecedented water crisis in Kashmir, with streams and springs that once nourished the land now completely dry. The famous springs and streams of Kashmir, once a lifeline for agriculture, tourism and vital water supply schemes, now stand either completely dry or at dangerously low levels. For example, the historic Achabal Mughal Garden, a 17th-century masterpiece built by Noor Jahan, wife of Mughal emperor Jahangir, in south Kashmir’s Anantnag, has dried up for the first time in its history.
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